Examination #1: The Everyday Miracle
I am still struggling somewhat with how I shall proceed with this weblog, and hope to have more on that soon, but for the time being, something mildly on topic has occurred to me while having a bit of discussion which led me down an interesting train of thought.
While reading the ever insightful Boztopia he posted a link to this review of the new motion picture version of CS Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from The Guardian.
Frankly, I believe the review is biased to the point of not being useful at all, but it raised some interesting points of discussion. One in particular was the following quote:
“Of all the elements of Christianity, the most repugnant is the notion of the Christ who took our sins upon himself and sacrificed his body in agony to save our souls. Did we ask him to? Poor child Edmund, to blame for everything, must bear the full weight of a guilt only Christians know how to inflict, with a twisted knife to the heart.”
I pointed this out to show the anti-Christian bias of the writer, but Boztopia, while admitting that the writer was biased, agreed with the sentiment of this particular quote, stating “That quote is my principal problem with Christianity. I can't buy into the notion of a guy getting killed for sins I had yet to commit. :) I think the writer is way over the top in their choice of language, but the point is one I can relate to.”
This led me to reflect some on the issue, and I have a few points to present. For the purposes of this and future discussion, I will generally refer to Catholicism and Christianity interchangeably. Although there are indeed many different denominations, some with significantly differing beliefs in some areas, I am Catholic. To me, the Catholic Church is the de facto “brand name” of Christianity, much like Coca Cola, Q-Tips, and Kleenex are for soda, cotton swabs, and facial tissue, respectively :-p
Also, I do not wish to be seen as denying anyone their right to an opinion; however, I wanted to address this point, not so much as a correction but as a clarification. After all, it might be someone’s valid opinion that Football is nothing more than an excuse for grown men to hurt each other, but as a definition that is somewhat lacking.
Finally, I am a layperson and not a theologian, so bear with me as I will likely not be as direct, clear, or concise as I would like.
Central to this characterization is that the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus was 1) an unasked for act or imposition, and 2) a singular act that took place some two millennia ago “for sins I had yet to commit” as Boz suggests. I believe however, that neither of these notions is accurate, and in thinking about it, I came upon a thought matching the theme of this weblog, mainly miracles.
The miracle in question, would be as the entry title suggests, an everyday one, and that would be the celebration of the Eucharist. The nature of this miracle is that it makes present the Passion of Christ. By this I mean to say that sins I have been guilty of are not redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice some two thousand years ago, but by Christ’s sacrifice TODAY… or tomorrow, or next Sunday, or whenever. This is the heart of the miracle of the Eucharist, it unites us in the Body of Christ, which is the people of God, connected both spatially and temporally, through Jesus’ sacrifice. Jesus didn’t just act as redeemer in AD 33, but rather his redeption is contemporary, right now. This is the heart of the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. God is not bound by the human construct of time, and the singular solitary act of redemption is kept ever present, not an act of the past, lost to us except as memory.
So, what does this mean (assuming one is willing to buy into this of course)? It means that the Passion is not unasked for, imposed, or a past event. It is a miracle that one may choose to accept (or choose not to), and that choice is made now, every day, in the present, which I believe puts quite a bit more of a positive and uplifting spin on things than the embittered Guardian writer, still seething about long-ago guilt trips over failure to eat vegetables, would like to believe.
Hopefully, dear reader, your eyes have not glazed over completely by now, but I feel that Christianity and Catholicism suffer very much from the inability of so-called “leaders” to express it in any kind of meaningful way. Of course, I am not sure that I have done any better, but it is what I can do for the moment.
While reading the ever insightful Boztopia he posted a link to this review of the new motion picture version of CS Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from The Guardian.
Frankly, I believe the review is biased to the point of not being useful at all, but it raised some interesting points of discussion. One in particular was the following quote:
“Of all the elements of Christianity, the most repugnant is the notion of the Christ who took our sins upon himself and sacrificed his body in agony to save our souls. Did we ask him to? Poor child Edmund, to blame for everything, must bear the full weight of a guilt only Christians know how to inflict, with a twisted knife to the heart.”
I pointed this out to show the anti-Christian bias of the writer, but Boztopia, while admitting that the writer was biased, agreed with the sentiment of this particular quote, stating “That quote is my principal problem with Christianity. I can't buy into the notion of a guy getting killed for sins I had yet to commit. :) I think the writer is way over the top in their choice of language, but the point is one I can relate to.”
This led me to reflect some on the issue, and I have a few points to present. For the purposes of this and future discussion, I will generally refer to Catholicism and Christianity interchangeably. Although there are indeed many different denominations, some with significantly differing beliefs in some areas, I am Catholic. To me, the Catholic Church is the de facto “brand name” of Christianity, much like Coca Cola, Q-Tips, and Kleenex are for soda, cotton swabs, and facial tissue, respectively :-p
Also, I do not wish to be seen as denying anyone their right to an opinion; however, I wanted to address this point, not so much as a correction but as a clarification. After all, it might be someone’s valid opinion that Football is nothing more than an excuse for grown men to hurt each other, but as a definition that is somewhat lacking.
Finally, I am a layperson and not a theologian, so bear with me as I will likely not be as direct, clear, or concise as I would like.
Central to this characterization is that the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus was 1) an unasked for act or imposition, and 2) a singular act that took place some two millennia ago “for sins I had yet to commit” as Boz suggests. I believe however, that neither of these notions is accurate, and in thinking about it, I came upon a thought matching the theme of this weblog, mainly miracles.
The miracle in question, would be as the entry title suggests, an everyday one, and that would be the celebration of the Eucharist. The nature of this miracle is that it makes present the Passion of Christ. By this I mean to say that sins I have been guilty of are not redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice some two thousand years ago, but by Christ’s sacrifice TODAY… or tomorrow, or next Sunday, or whenever. This is the heart of the miracle of the Eucharist, it unites us in the Body of Christ, which is the people of God, connected both spatially and temporally, through Jesus’ sacrifice. Jesus didn’t just act as redeemer in AD 33, but rather his redeption is contemporary, right now. This is the heart of the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. God is not bound by the human construct of time, and the singular solitary act of redemption is kept ever present, not an act of the past, lost to us except as memory.
So, what does this mean (assuming one is willing to buy into this of course)? It means that the Passion is not unasked for, imposed, or a past event. It is a miracle that one may choose to accept (or choose not to), and that choice is made now, every day, in the present, which I believe puts quite a bit more of a positive and uplifting spin on things than the embittered Guardian writer, still seething about long-ago guilt trips over failure to eat vegetables, would like to believe.
Hopefully, dear reader, your eyes have not glazed over completely by now, but I feel that Christianity and Catholicism suffer very much from the inability of so-called “leaders” to express it in any kind of meaningful way. Of course, I am not sure that I have done any better, but it is what I can do for the moment.